- Autumn 2012
Additional Details:
In this course students will work with material from contemporary plays. There will be an emphasis on developing a consistent creative practice with the aim of gaining greater access to the artist’s imagination and instincts. An important course goal and learning outcome will be a stronger focus of attention within the fictional reality and a depth of insight into text and dramatic action with heightened organic responsivity. The work in the course will center around four primary concerns: accessibility and sensitivity to fictional realities, personal creative freedom and expression as a commitment, replacing any and all concerns about impressing, showing or indicating with a clarity of purpose and process, and lastly the development of a professional work ethic. The course will offer each student the opportunity to practice, to experiment, and to explore his/her creative potential through intensive scene study, improvisation, lectures and discussion.
COURSE OBJECTIVE:
To support the expansion of the actor’s capacity to imagine and express her/himself in a fictional reality. Truthful expression and depth of involvement are achieved through a daily commitment to making a secondary reality real, with depth, dimension and meaning. It is the work of the actor to create an imagined reality, within which she/he will live; to make the facts, as dictated by the playwright, true, through the use of the imaginationand specific, detailed study of the relationships and subject matter in the play. The art of acting lies in surrendering, without judgment, to the circumstances at hand and committing fully with energy and conviction to the task at hand. In this class, the student will be involved in two situations (scenes) from contemporary plays. The instructor will select both sets of circumstances. A second component of this class will involve weekly readings, short lectures and discussion aimed at challenging the student/artists to think deeply and critically about acting theory and the creative process.